JP2011221811A - Drive recorder and recording method of drive recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drive recorder capable of recording data to be utilized even except when an abnormality such as an accident occurs and certainly leaving data with high importance as a record.SOLUTION: The drive recorder includes: a first image data input part 11; a second image data input part 13; an abnormality detection signal input part 12; a nonvolatile information recording part 18; a first recording control part 16 which writes first image data in synchronization with an abnormality detection signal; and a second recording control part 17 which continuously writes second image data, records importance information in the second image data in timing in synchronization with the generation of the abnormality detection signal, and selects a recording area in which old data with low importance is recorded according to presence/absence of the importance information to overwrite the second image data when the remaining recording capacity of the nonvolatile information recording part 18 runs short.

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive recorder that can be mounted on a moving body such as an automobile and a recording method of the drive recorder.

  Conventionally, drive recorders developed on the assumption that they are installed in automobiles are those that automatically record and store the situation of a short time zone including the time of a traffic accident as image information. is there. Whether or not an abnormality such as a traffic accident has occurred can be automatically identified by using an acceleration sensor or the like.

  By the way, in order to record a clear image, a large-capacity recording apparatus and a high-resolution camera are required even when the recording time is relatively short. However, when a large-capacity recording apparatus is installed, the cost increases or the apparatus becomes large.

  Thus, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for reducing the storage capacity required for a recording device of a drive recorder. Specifically, the importance is determined for each part in the image obtained by imaging, and the result is recorded as check data. Then, the compression rate when compressing the image data is dynamically controlled according to the presence or absence of the check data. The check data is determined according to whether or not the information on the license plate of the automobile is included in the image.

  Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique for recording important information related to a driving situation in a drive recorder. Patent Document 2 proposes to detect whether or not the vehicle is in a stopped state and automatically reduce the data recording capacity by thinning out the recorded image data if the vehicle is in a stopped state.

JP 2009-175848 A JP 2009-217526 A

  A general drive recorder records data such as an image only in a time zone before and after the time when an abnormality such as a traffic accident occurs. However, the image obtained when no abnormality has occurred is also useful. For example, if a camera that captures the driver's driving situation is installed in the passenger compartment and images obtained by this camera are recorded continuously, the driver can safely You can check if you are driving. Of course, in order to record the situation of the accident, a camera for photographing the front in the traveling direction of the car is also required.

  On the other hand, when images obtained by camera shooting are continuously recorded, the length of time that can be recorded is limited by the capacity of the recording device. Therefore, if the image recording is continued, the remaining storage area that can be stored gradually decreases, and eventually the storage area that can be stored disappears and no more images can be recorded. However, if data is erased in order and control is performed so that new data is overwritten in the recording area where data has been erased, data recording can be continued for a long time regardless of the capacity of the recording device. Can do.

  As described above, when erasing old data among recorded data, important data having high utility value may be lost without considering the importance of the data. For example, when an abnormality such as a traffic accident occurs, not only an image in front of the traveling direction of the car but also an image showing the interior of the vehicle such as the driving situation at that time can be important evidence. However, when an image in the vehicle at the time of the accident is to be confirmed at a later date, there is a possibility that the data is already deleted and there is no corresponding data because it is old in time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is to record and utilize data other than when an abnormality such as an accident has occurred, and to ensure highly important data. It is an object of the present invention to provide a drive recorder that can be left as a record and a recording method for the drive recorder.

In order to achieve the above object, a drive recorder according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to (4).
(1) a first image data input unit for inputting first image data obtained by photographing a subject ahead of the moving body in the moving direction;
A second image data input unit for inputting second image data obtained by photographing a subject different from the first image data;
An anomaly detection signal input unit for inputting an anomaly detection signal related to an abnormality of a traffic accident occurrence,
At least one nonvolatile information recording unit capable of writing and reading input information;
A first recording control unit that writes the first image data into the nonvolatile information recording unit at a timing synchronized with the occurrence of the abnormality detection signal;
A second recording control unit for writing the second image data continuously or periodically into the nonvolatile information recording unit;
With
The first recording control unit or the second recording control unit associates importance information indicating the importance of data with the second image data that appears at a timing synchronized with the occurrence of the abnormality detection signal. When the remaining recording capacity of the non-volatile information recording unit is insufficient, the second recording control unit records old data with low importance according to the presence / absence of the importance information. Selecting a recorded recording area and overwriting the second image data.
(2) The drive recorder according to (1) above,
The first image data input unit includes a first camera installed on the moving body with a shooting direction forward in the moving direction of the moving body,
The second image data input unit includes a second camera installed on the moving body with a shooting direction facing a vehicle interior of the moving body.
(3) The drive recorder according to (1) above,
An audio data input unit for inputting information on the sound detected by a predetermined microphone;
The first recording control unit or the second recording control unit writes the first image data into the nonvolatile information recording unit and writes the second image data into the nonvolatile information recording unit. In at least one of the above, the acoustic information input from the acoustic data input unit is written in the nonvolatile information recording unit.
(4) The drive recorder according to (1) above,
Even if the second recording control unit is data including the importance information, if there is no data written by the first recording control unit in the corresponding time zone, the corresponding data Reduce the importance of and enable its removal.

According to the drive recorder having the configuration (1), when an abnormality such as a traffic accident occurs, the first image data and the second image data can be reliably recorded and stored. Further, since the second image data is recorded even when an abnormality does not occur, the drive recorder can always be used effectively. Even when the remaining recording capacity is insufficient, the latest second image data can be recorded without deleting the past second image data at the time of occurrence of the abnormality.
According to the drive recorder configured as described in (2) above, image data obtained by photographing the front of the moving body in the moving direction and image data obtained by photographing the interior of the moving body are recorded respectively. Can be saved.
According to the drive recorder having the configuration (3), not only the image data but also the acoustic data collected when the moving body is traveling can be automatically recorded and stored. Therefore, it is useful for analyzing driving situations and accident situations.
According to the drive recorder having the configuration (4), it is possible to automatically delete the data including the importance information.

In order to achieve the object described above, the recording method of the drive recorder according to the present invention is characterized by the following (5) to (6).
(5) Obtained by photographing a subject different from the first image data, and a first image data input unit for inputting first image data obtained by photographing a subject ahead of the moving body in the moving direction. A second image data input unit for inputting second image data, an abnormality detection signal input unit for inputting an abnormality detection signal related to an abnormality in the occurrence of a traffic accident, and writing and reading of input information are possible. At least one non-volatile information recording unit, a first recording control unit that writes the first image data to the non-volatile information recording unit at a timing synchronized with the occurrence of the abnormality detection signal, and the second image A recording method of the drive recorder for controlling the drive recorder, comprising: a second recording control unit that writes data to the nonvolatile information recording unit continuously or periodically;
At the timing synchronized with the occurrence of the abnormality detection signal, importance level information representing the importance level of data is recorded in the nonvolatile information recording unit in association with the corresponding area of the second image data,
When the remaining recording capacity of the non-volatile information recording unit is insufficient, the second image data is overwritten by selecting a recording area in which old data with low importance is recorded according to the presence / absence of the importance information To do.
(6) The drive recorder recording method according to (5) above,
When the number of recording times of the first image data reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the oldest data is recorded among the areas allocated to the first image data on the nonvolatile information recording unit. Overwriting the first image data by selecting a recording area.

According to the recording method of the drive recorder having the configuration (5), the first image data and the second image data can be reliably recorded and stored when an abnormality such as the occurrence of a traffic accident occurs. Further, since the second image data is recorded even when an abnormality does not occur, the drive recorder can always be used effectively. Even when the remaining recording capacity is insufficient, the latest second image data can be recorded without deleting the past second image data at the time of occurrence of the abnormality.
According to the recording method of the drive recorder having the above configuration (6), the first image data obtained when an abnormality occurs can be recorded and stored for a plurality of abnormalities. Further, when the upper limit is reached, the new first image data is overwritten in the recording area where the old data is recorded, so that the increase in the storage capacity required for the nonvolatile information recording unit is suppressed. it can.

  According to the present invention, data can be recorded even when an abnormality such as an accident has occurred, and the drive recorder can be used. Moreover, highly important data such as image data obtained at the time of an accident can be reliably obtained. Can be recorded as a record.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through the modes for carrying out the invention described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the drive recorder of embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the main operation | movement of the drive recorder shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structural example of the recording content of the drive recorder shown in FIG.

  Specific embodiments relating to the drive recorder and the recording method of the drive recorder of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. An example of the configuration of the drive recorder of this embodiment is shown in FIG. The drive recorder shown in FIG. 1 is configured assuming that it is mainly used by being mounted on a moving body such as an automobile.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the drive recorder 10 includes input terminals 11 to 14, a signal processing unit 15, a first recording control unit 16, a second recording control unit 17, and a nonvolatile information recording unit 18. It is also possible to integrate the first recording control unit 16 and the second recording control unit 17 to realize these functions with a single control unit.

  A camera 21, an acceleration sensor 22, a camera 23, and a microphone 24 are connected to input terminals 11 to 14 of the drive recorder 10, respectively. A part or all of the camera 21, the acceleration sensor 22, the camera 23, and the microphone 24 may be mounted on the drive recorder 10 itself.

  The camera 21 is an imaging device including an imaging element such as a two-dimensional CCD image sensor, and can output an image obtained by photographing a subject as a moving image almost continuously. The camera 21 is fixed on the vehicle in a position and orientation that can photograph a subject in front of the moving direction of the vehicle on which the drive recorder 10 is mounted, that is, a part of the body of the vehicle, a road, an oncoming vehicle, and the like. It is installed.

  The acceleration sensor 22 detects an acceleration (abnormality detection signal) in a predetermined direction in order to be able to identify whether or not the automobile on which the drive recorder 10 is mounted has received an abnormally large impact, such as when a traffic accident occurs.

  The camera 23 is an imaging device including an imaging element such as a two-dimensional CCD image sensor, and can output an image obtained by photographing a subject as a moving image almost continuously. The camera 23 is fixed on the vehicle in a position and orientation so as to photograph a subject in the vehicle interior of the vehicle on which the drive recorder 10 is mounted, that is, the situation of the driver and its surroundings.

  The microphone 24 is fixed in the passenger compartment of the automobile on which the drive recorder 10 is mounted. The microphone 24 collects sounds that can be collected in the passenger compartment, that is, sounds such as voices generated by the driver and engine sounds generated around the microphones, and outputs the sound information as electric signals.

  An image signal output from the camera 21 is input to the signal processing unit 15 via the input terminal 11 and converted into image data suitable for processing by the drive recorder 10. This image data is output from the signal processing unit 15 and input to the first recording control unit 16.

  The acceleration signal output from the acceleration sensor 22 is input to the signal processing unit 15 via the input terminal 12 and converted into a binary signal indicating whether or not an abnormally large impact has occurred. This binary signal is output from the signal processing unit 15 and input to the first recording control unit 16.

  An image signal output from the camera 23 is input to the signal processing unit 15 via the input terminal 13 and converted into image data suitable for processing by the drive recorder 10. This image data is output from the signal processing unit 15 and input to the second recording control unit 17.

  The acoustic electrical signal output from the microphone 24 is input to the signal processing unit 15 via the input terminal 14 and converted into a digital acoustic signal suitable for processing by the drive recorder 10. The digital acoustic signal is output from the signal processing unit 15 and input to the first recording control unit 16 and the second recording control unit 17.

  The nonvolatile information recording unit 18 is a storage device that can hold stored data even when no power is supplied, such as a memory card, and can write and read data. The non-volatile information recording unit 18 has a relatively large storage capacity (for example, 1 Gbyte) so that information such as images can be held.

  The first recording control unit 16 records and stores the image data obtained by photographing with the camera 21 and the acoustic data obtained by collecting the sound of the microphone 24 in the nonvolatile information recording unit 18 when an impact occurs. The first recording control unit 16 includes an internal memory, and constantly records input image data and sound data in the internal memory. Therefore, data obtained at the timing before the occurrence of the impact (up to about several seconds before) can also be recorded in the nonvolatile information recording unit 18.

  The second recording control unit 17 continuously records the image data obtained by photographing with the camera 23 and the acoustic data obtained by collecting the sound of the microphone 24 in the nonvolatile information recording unit 18. When the remaining storage capacity on the non-volatile information recording unit 18 for recording by the second recording control unit 17 becomes insufficient, the contents of the area where the data with the oldest recording date are written are erased and stored in that area. Write new data to overwrite. Therefore, even when the storage capacity of the nonvolatile information recording unit 18 is relatively small, new data can be continuously written. However, as will be described later, data to which “important mark” is added is protected without being erased even if it becomes old.

  The signal processing unit 15, the first recording control unit 16, and the second recording control unit 17 can be realized by dedicated hardware such as a logic circuit or a combination of computer hardware and a program. You can also.

  Next, a more detailed operation of the drive recorder 10 will be described. The contents of main operations of the drive recorder 10 shown in FIG. 1 are shown in FIG. A specific configuration example of the recorded contents of the drive recorder 10 is shown in FIG.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the storage area on the nonvolatile information recording unit 18 is recorded by the recording area AR1 of data such as an image of the camera 21 recorded by the first recording control unit 16 and the second recording control unit 17. It is divided into a recording area AR2 for data such as an image of the camera 23 to be managed.

  As for the data written by the first recording control unit 16, data collected for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds before and after the occurrence of the impact) for each occurrence of the impact is collected as one set and recorded as an independent data file. The For example, when the impact occurs four times, files of data D11,..., D14 are sequentially written in the recording area AR1 as shown in FIG. However, there is an upper limit to the number of data (number of files) to be written in the recording area AR1. When the upper limit is exceeded, the oldest data file (D11) in time is deleted, and a new data file is overwritten in the recording area. Each data file also includes information about the date and time of recording, so it is possible to identify whether each data file is old.

  On the other hand, the data written by the second recording control unit 17 is written substantially continuously, but is divided every minute and managed as independent data files. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, files of data D21, D22, D23,..., D25 are written in the recording area AR2 in the order of time. However, when the remaining recording capacity of the recording area AR2 becomes insufficient, the contents of the area where the oldest data is written are erased and overwritten with a new data file. Each data file also includes information about the date and time of recording, so it is possible to identify whether each data file is old. Further, when an “important mark” is added to the data file, even the old data is stored without being deleted. The “important mark” means that the data is important, and is information (importance information) for distinguishing it from information of relatively low importance.

  For example, in the state shown in FIG. 3, when writing a new data file next to the data file D25, if the remaining recording capacity of the recording area AR2 becomes insufficient, the oldest data file in time is D21. However, the data file is not erased because "important mark" is added to D21, and the next oldest data file erases the contents of D22 and overwrites the new data file there.

Next, the operation of the first recording control unit 16 shown in FIG. 2 will be described.
In step S11, when the occurrence of an impact is detected based on the signal output from the acceleration sensor 22, the first recording control unit 16 starts recording data. As described above, in practice, the first recording control unit 16 always records the input image data and sound data in the internal memory regardless of whether or not an impact has occurred. The start of recording in step S11 is a start operation for writing the obtained data into the nonvolatile information recording unit 18.

  That is, the latest data for the past predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) already recorded in the internal memory at the time of starting recording in step S11 and the predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) after starting recording in step S11. ) Are recorded in the nonvolatile information recording unit 18 as a series of data this time.

  In step S12, the passage of a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) from the start of recording in step S11 is detected, and this recording operation is terminated. At this time, data for a predetermined time before and after the time when the occurrence of an impact is detected is stored in the nonvolatile information recording unit 18 as one data file.

  In step S13, the operation state of the second recording control unit 17 is referred to, and when the recording of the first recording control unit 16 is completed in step S12, the specific data that the second recording control unit 17 was in the middle of writing. The process waits until the writing for one minute is completed. When the file is finished, the process proceeds to the next step S14.

In step S14, the first recording control unit 16 adds “important mark” information to the specific data file detected in step S13.
For example, when the second recording control unit 17 has written the data file D21 when the first recording control unit 16 has written the data file D11 shown in FIG. 3 in steps S11 and S12, Information of “important mark” is added. It should be noted that not only the data file D21 but also the previous and subsequent files (other files that are close in time) may be simultaneously added with “important mark”.

Next, the operation of the second recording control unit 17 shown in FIG. 2 will be described.
In step S21, the second recording control unit 17 continuously acquires the image data obtained by photographing with the camera 23 and the acoustic data obtained by collecting the sound of the microphone 24, and is recorded in the nonvolatile information recording unit 18. Write to area AR2. Then, the continuous data for 1 minute is classified as one data file, and the process proceeds to the next step S22 every time recording of one data file is completed.

  In step S22, the second recording control unit 17 refers to the remaining storage capacity (free capacity) of the nonvolatile information recording unit 18 that is a recording medium, and whether or not this capacity is sufficient compared to a predetermined threshold value. Identify If the remaining storage capacity is sufficient, the process proceeds to step S28, and if it is insufficient, the process proceeds to step S23.

  In step S23, the second recording control unit 17 refers to the state of each recorded data file in the recording area AR2 allocated for its own data recording, and the specific data file (the oldest recorded date and time) In the example of FIG. 3, it is identified whether or not the information of “important mark” exists in the oldest D21). If there is no “important mark”, the process proceeds to step S27, and if present, the process proceeds to step S24.

  In step S24, the second recording control unit 17 records the data file (D11 in FIG. 3) recorded by the first recording control unit 16 in the time zone corresponding to the time zone in which the oldest data file (D21 in FIG. 3) is recorded. ) Is present or not. That is, it is identified whether or not there is a data file having a time zone that coincides among the data files recorded in the recording area AR1. If it does not exist, the process proceeds to step S27, and if it exists, the process proceeds to step S25.

  In step S25, the second recording control unit 17 searches the data files existing in the recording area AR2 for the n-th oldest data file in order from the oldest to the newest when the date and time when they were recorded. The nth data file in which “mark” does not exist is searched. That is, when the “important mark” exists in the nth data file, the value of n is incremented by 1, and the next nth data file is referred to again to determine the nth data without the “important mark”. Find the file.

  In step S26, the second recording control unit 17 deletes the n-th data file having no “important mark” found in step S25 as an old data file with low importance. As a result, a writable free area is generated in the erased area of the data file.

  In step S27, the second recording control unit 17 deletes the data file with the oldest recorded date and time as an old data file with low importance. As a result, a writable free area is generated in the erased area of the data file.

For example, in the state shown in FIG. 3, since “important mark” exists in the data file D21 and “important mark” does not exist in the second oldest data file D22, the data file D22 is created to generate a new empty area. It is deleted preferentially. If the “important mark” does not exist in the data file D21, the oldest data file D21 is deleted in step S27. Further, even when the “important mark” exists in the data file D21 as in the state shown in FIG. 3, if the data file D11 recorded in the same time zone does not exist, step S24 is performed. From step S27 to step S27, the data file D21 is deleted. That is, when there is no data file D11 that is recorded in correspondence with the time recorded by the first recording control unit 16, it can be deleted even if the “important mark” exists in the data file D21.
In step S28, the second recording control unit 17 stands by for writing the next data file.

  As described above, since the data file (corresponding to D21 to D25 in FIG. 3) recorded by the second recording control unit 17 is always recorded regardless of the occurrence of a traffic accident or the like, Not only records, but also daily operation records can be kept, which can be utilized for management for promoting safe operation, and the utility value of the drive recorder is increased. In addition, highly important data obtained at the time of an accident, etc., is securely retained without being erased, and old data is automatically erased, so even if the capacity of the storage device is relatively small, it can be used. You can leave valuable data.

  As described above, the drive recorder of the present invention is mounted on a moving body such as an automobile, and can be used to analyze a situation when a traffic accident occurs, for example, to analyze a daily driving situation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Drive recorder 11-14 Input terminal 15 Signal processing part 16 1st recording control part (1st recording control part)
17 Second recording control unit (second recording control unit)
18 Nonvolatile Information Recording Unit 21 Camera 22 Acceleration Sensor 23 Camera 24 Microphone

Claims (6)

A first image data input unit for inputting first image data obtained by photographing a subject ahead of the moving body in the moving direction;
A second image data input unit for inputting second image data obtained by photographing a subject different from the first image data;
An anomaly detection signal input unit for inputting an anomaly detection signal related to the occurrence of a traffic accident;
At least one nonvolatile information recording unit capable of writing and reading input information;
A first recording control unit that writes the first image data into the nonvolatile information recording unit at a timing synchronized with the occurrence of the abnormality detection signal;
A second recording control unit for writing the second image data continuously or periodically into the nonvolatile information recording unit;
With
The first recording control unit or the second recording control unit associates importance information indicating the importance of data with the second image data that appears at a timing synchronized with the occurrence of the abnormality detection signal. When the remaining recording capacity of the non-volatile information recording unit is insufficient, the second recording control unit records old data with low importance according to the presence / absence of the importance information. A drive recorder, wherein a recorded area is selected and the second image data is overwritten. The first image data input unit includes a first camera installed on the moving body with a shooting direction forward in the moving direction of the moving body,
2. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein the second image data input unit includes a second camera installed on the moving body with a shooting direction facing a vehicle interior of the moving body. An audio data input unit for inputting information on the sound detected by a predetermined microphone;
The first recording control unit or the second recording control unit writes the first image data into the nonvolatile information recording unit and writes the second image data into the nonvolatile information recording unit. 2. The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein the acoustic information input from the acoustic data input unit is written in the nonvolatile information recording unit in at least one of the above. Even if the second recording control unit is data including the importance information, if there is no data written by the first recording control unit in the corresponding time zone, the corresponding data The drive recorder according to claim 1, wherein the erasure is made possible by lowering the importance of the drive recorder. A first image data input unit for inputting first image data obtained by photographing a subject ahead in the moving direction of the moving body, and a second obtained by photographing a subject different from the first image data. A second image data input unit for inputting image data; an abnormality detection signal input unit for inputting an abnormality detection signal related to an abnormality in the occurrence of a traffic accident; and at least one capable of writing and reading input information A non-volatile information recording unit, a first recording control unit that writes the first image data to the non-volatile information recording unit at a timing synchronized with the occurrence of the abnormality detection signal, and the second image data are continuously provided. A recording method of a drive recorder for controlling a drive recorder comprising a second recording control unit that writes to the non-volatile information recording unit periodically or periodically,
At the timing synchronized with the occurrence of the abnormality detection signal, importance level information representing the importance level of data is recorded in the nonvolatile information recording unit in association with the corresponding area of the second image data,
When the remaining recording capacity of the non-volatile information recording unit is insufficient, the second image data is overwritten by selecting a recording area in which old data with low importance is recorded according to the presence / absence of the importance information A recording method for a drive recorder. When the number of recording times of the first image data reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the oldest data is recorded among the areas allocated to the first image data on the nonvolatile information recording unit. The recording method of the drive recorder according to claim 5, wherein the recording area selected is overwritten with the first image data.

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